Thurston Family Family papers are open for research., Folder # , Box #, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University

Arrangement

Arrangement is by series: Genealogy, The John Gates Thurston Family, The Francis H. Thurston Family, The George Lee Thurston II Family, George Lee Thurston III, and Visual Images, then alphabetical and chronological.

History

Biography:

The earliest known ancestor of the Thurston family came to America from Kent County, England between 1635 and 1638. The early Thurstons lived in Massachusetts, where John Gates Thurston (1794-1873) was a politician, serving both in the Senate and the House of Representatives. He worked towards bettering the plight of the insane in his state and, ironically, died in an insane asylum, although nothing is known about the circumstances.

One of his sons, George Lee I, served in the Civil War, fought in the battle of Shiloh, and died of dysentery contracted during his service. His boyhood friend and comrade in arms, Henry S. Nourse, married George’s widow, Mary, and raised his two sons.

John’s other son, Francis Thurston (1833-1916) moved to Illinois in 1855 and then to Central Lake, Antrim County, Michigan, in 1879. There he began a merchandise and lumbering business. Following in a family tradition, he was a journalist, writing for Forest and Stream Magazine, The Sportsmen’s Review, and the Michigan Tradesman, sometimes using the pen name Kingfisher of Kelpie. Francis was influential in the development of his community, especially convincing the Chicago and North Michigan Railroad to extend to Central Lake.

Influenced by his father and encouraged by his Uncle Dud, Francis’ son, George Lee Thurston II (1863-1907), wanted to be a journalist. At age 19 he worked for the Mancelona Herald and began his own monthly publication, the Intermediate Valley. By 1833, however, George Lee Thurston gave up publishing to help his father with the store. In 1886 he began writing again and freelanced in various publications. Meanwhile, Francis left for milder climates, trying California and settling in Florida. George remained in Central Lake, working for the growth of the town in the face of increasing competition from Bellaire and East Jordan. He built a cannery (1902) to create employment.

George married Lenore Mohrmann, daughter of German immigrant William Mohrmann, who served in the Civil War and who, in 1912, crippled and depressed, wrote “Pallida Mors” and shot himself.

Little is known about George’s sons, Lee Mohrmann (1896- ) and Frederick Crandall (1894- ) except that Lee was involved in education and Frederick was a journalist. Frederick’s son, George Lee Thurston III was a journalist as well, serving as part of the Capital Press Corps, Florida. (This information is from the collection.)

Collection Scope and Content Note

The Thurston Family Papers, ranging from 1823 to 1974, consist of correspondence; a diary; financial, business, and legal papers; photographs, daguerreotypes, biographical materials, and a scrapbook of advertising cards. The papers fall in to six groupings, Genealogy, The John Gates Thurston Family, The Francis H. Thurston Family, The George Lee Thurston II Family, George Lee Thurston III, and Visual Images. The folders in each grouping are arranged alphabetically.

Genealogy contains genealogical material and several drafts of The Thurston Chronicle, a history of the Thurston family, by George Lee Thurston III.

The John Gates Thurston Family material includes legal papers and records from the Massachusetts House of Representatives, an 1824 letter describing Lafayette’s visit to Alexandria, a 1836 diary of John’s trip to Chicago, Civil War letters from his son George L. Thurston I and Henry Nourse, and a passport from a trip to Europe in 1839.

The Francis H. Thurston Family material includes articles by Francis on such topics as Michigan trivia, Civil War memories, building a canvas canoe, and descriptions of the excellence of Michigan. Letters from his mother (1862, 1963) include Civil War news, details of his brother’s death following the war, and marriage advice. In an 1897 letter from his son, George, Francis learns that George had to put in a telephone because the competing lumber mill had one and was getting more business. A letter (1907) to Francis’ recently widowed daughter-in-law Lenore gives her nearly word for word financial advice given to him in 1886 by his friend E. H. Russell when William McNeil had a breakdown and nearly financially destroyed Francis.

The George Lee Thurston II Family material is more eclectic than the rest of the collection because of the variety of people and materials in this grouping. Included is correspondence of the Mohrmann family (George married Lenore Mohrmann) written in German and a German report card as well as both the original and transcript copies of William’s suicide poem “Pallida Mors.” George Lee Thurston II’s publication, the Intermediate Valley contains facts about Michigan, ads, and humorous stories. Letters from his Uncle Dud (1879, undated) are humorous and encourage George to develop his writing--both style and content. Letters written in 1879 from his boyhood friends in Ohio talk of the yellow fever epidemic and of the diphtheria epidemic in Michigan. Frederick Crandall Thurston’s (George’s son) correspondence includes letters he wrote to his family while he was looking for work in New York, 1930-1931, describing railway travel and his negative reaction to radios. The copies of the 1934 editions of the Remington News (Culpepper, Va.) indicate depression-era prices and an unusually progressive attitude (for the South) towards blacks which contrasts with an 1856 receipt for the sale of Hannah (a Negro) for $50 (the connection with the Thurston family is unclear).

Visual Images include photographs, photograph albums, daguerreotypes, and a scrapbook of advertising cards. Identified daguerreotypes and photographs include many family members and friends whose names appear in the Thurston papers. Among these are E. H. Russell, William McNeil, and Mary B. Thurston Nourse. The unidentified daguerreotypes include two images of a man with his dog and one image of a woman kissing a baby. The unidentified daguerreotypes are labeled with a number; the same number followed by a letter (ie 5a, 5b), indicates different daguerreotypes of the same person. A folder with a photograph of a Lee Thurston is in the Clarke’s Biographical Photographs File. The scrapbook includes only one Michigan advertising card, the rest being from New York (State) or other states.